Photography

On this course you’ll discover the full breath of the field of photography. Explore areas such as the history of photographic images, moving image, contextual studies and digital media, with professional practice at the heart of your learning. You’ll learn in industry-standard facilities, developing technical skills in various technologies with support from expert tutors. Work on live external client briefs and learn how to curate and exhibit your work to a professional standard.

You’ll create meaningful content that responds to contemporary global concerns and you are encouraged to be incredibly creative and experimental in your approach. Working at the forefront of emerging trends, you’ll develop your skills as a creative problem-solver. And, along with visits to exhibitions and the chance to attend study trips in the UK and overseas, you’ll further enhance your knowledge and passion for your subject.

As a graduate, you’ll have the skills to adapt to this ever-changing field and to create innovative work for careers across the global industries of media, communication and the arts.

Key features

• Develop your creative, technical and academic skills to produce exciting, thought-provoking and dynamic work.

• Be at the cutting edge of developments in photographic practice and study a curriculum that is relevant to industry needs.

• Learn from experts and technical specialists in photography, video and audio with extensive professional experience.

• Boost your portfolio through working on live briefs for external clients and work experience opportunities at businesses such as the National Space Centre, FABRIC (formerly Dance4), Soft Touch Arts and Gymshark.

• With an emphasis on curation and exhibition, you will have opportunities to showcase your work to develop your portfolio and professional skills.

• This course will open doors to a wide range of exciting career paths, from practicing as a fine artist and freelancing across the commercial sector, to collaborating with the design, marketing and fashion industries.

• The award-winning Vijay Patel Building provides both the space and the facilities where ideas can develop and flourish. You will have access to a green screen AV studio, a double height photography studio, edit suites, wet film development lab and Mac labs.

If you are interested in advanced entry into Year 3 of this course, please visit the DMU website for the course details: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/pre-edu-2030/photography-and-video-ba-degree/photography-and-video-ba-degree.aspx

First year
Block 1: Photography Ideas and Practice
Block 2: Moving Image Ideas and Practice
Block 3: Contextual and Visual Research
Block 4: Presenting and Contextualising Your Work

Second year
Block 1: Studio Practice: Themes and Techniques
Block 2: Curation and Exhibition
Blocks 3 and 4: Experimental and Emerging Practice
Blocks 3 and 4: Critical Research and Contemporary Visual Culture

Third year
Blocks 1 and 2: Final Major Project Development
Blocks 1 and 2: Critical Research
Blocks 3 and 4: Final Major Project
Blocks 3 and 4: Professional Practices

We want to ensure you have the best learning experience possible and a supportive and nurturing learning community. That’s why we’re introducing a new block model for delivering the majority of our courses, known as Education 2030. This means a more simplified timetable where you will study one subject at a time instead of several at once. You will have more time to engage with your learning and get to know the teaching team and course mates. You will receive faster feedback through more regular assessment, and have a better study-life balance to enjoy other important aspects of university life.

Structure
Our curriculum is designed to support you to become confident, critical, creative, adaptable, articulate and aspiring.

In your first year you will explore the role of the still and moving image within culture and the techniques of creating high-quality imagery. You will gain a foundation in both historical and contemporary production processes of still and moving images, alongside starting to develop your creative skills to become a producer of meaningful content. You will also begin to build an understanding of display and exhibition practices of producing work for an audience and learn how critical research informs your work.

The second year builds on the first year to give you greater ownership of your work, extending your knowledge of production and techniques. You can choose to focus on cutting-edge technical and creative explorations within a fine art setting or develop your understanding of social documentary techniques by visually responding to contemporary cultural issues. You will begin to build your professional knowledge of curating images by producing a real museum-quality exhibition.

In the third year, you will become a full-fledged producer and content creator whose creative identity is backed by solid theory and practice. You will be given industry-specific training in freelancing and commercial work via real-world and simulated briefs. Substantial research and reflection through research-focused modules, coupled with experimental approaches in production, will prepare you to complete a major self-directed project.

Throughout the course, you are supported by an experienced and friendly staff team. Our staff are all practising photographers, artists, researchers and video practitioners, with a wealth of experience in the industry. Guest lecturers from a variety of lens-based backgrounds give you an insight into commercial and artistic professional practice.

You will be assessed through portfolios, group work, critiques and essays, with opportunities to receive feedback on your work in each module.

Contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, studios, group work and self-directed study. You will normally attend around 14 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 25 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.